To become aware of effective retention strategies to me means a learning process by the instruction. It begins by learning how to be a more effective instructor by methods such as this class and having a mentor at the school we work.
The most effective retention strategies I am aware of are the ones where the instructor makes it a point to learn about each student and engage them. It also helps to facilitate relationships between students in the class and pointing out to the whole class when a student does or says something productive. Especially when the difficult or quiet students do something productive.
Student feedback is great for retention
Hi Jim,
Your last sentence really says it all. We need to work to help the students to see that they must make the class their own and then grow in that class throughout the duration of it. This is what learning is all about.
Gary
Instructors need to understand that not everyone learns the same way. Multiple intelligences suggest that varied methods may need to be incorporated within classes. If the student seems to be engaged and has taken possession of his class, the likelihood for success and retention is increased exponentially.
Hi All,
You all have shared a number of very good comments about how to increase student retention. In expanding on your comments I would like to ask if each of you would share a retention strategy that has worked well for you that you would like to share with the rest of us.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Gary
When I was in college, the lectures were very boring and most professor's didn't care if you learned or not. Needless to say I didn't always get flying colors, unless I put a lot of initiative into learning it on my own.
I put myself in the student's place when it comes to this and I then ask myself "if I were learning this, how would I want it presented." And I try to come up with realistic examples and peak their attention. Most of the times that is all it takes.
Other times I talk to other instructors and even the students to see what interests them. I will even google a topic to find other ways to engage my students.
It may be as simple as talking with other instructors and getting ideas of what has worked for them in the past.
Communication is one of the keys to effective retention. I talk with my students not to them, and I let them know this is their classroom. By letting my students take an active relationship in their education they are more apt to stay in my class and complete the course.
Check in with students each and every class to ensure they are engaged. Hopefully, you can get feedback on how the class is going.
I find that the quicker the feedback the better. I try to get all papers back to students by the following class. The students appreciate this and seem to learn more if you can do this.
With lecture that is almost hands on or that require the students to participate on a level of this new generation of facebook, twitter and music videos, even xbox 360.
Taking a course like this one informs instructors on methods to use in order to retain students. Any attempts to improve retention can also be observed by an instructor over time. Finally, one can research the topic and learn best practices from other successful instructors.
the watching of outher instructors, looking, at the way they conduct the class, listen to what they say and handle retention areas. get several points of view. ask outher instructors to sit in and watch and listen to you speak.
By reading sureys done on the instructors. I find this informational and feel it's constructie.
That can be effective. After you find out some of the option then you need to put them to the test.
Hi Melania,
What are some of the strategies you use to keep the class interesting for your students?
Thanks in advance for your input on this.
Gary
by keeping the class interesting for all the students
I believe student surveys are a good way to become aware of effective retention strategies. Also, just monitoring student progress throughout the class will also help to become aware of any areas that may need improvement, which will inevitable affect retention.
Hi June,
Thank you for your comments about we can engage our students and increase their knowledge retention rate while increasing their program completion rate as well.
I to am challenged by the students coming to me without the basic academic skills needed to be successful in my class. It takes some creativity to get them settled into the class while increasing their basic skills to the point of success.
Also, thanks for pointing out the misspelling. It got through our proofreaders and took an eagle eye like yours to find. Will get it taken care of immediately.
Gary
Hi, Gary! I would say that most of the ideas presented here are good ones to be aware of. We can also talk with teachers who have high retention rates as well as continue to explore this area of pedagogy. I find that my in-seat retention rates are high as are my upper-level classes. My in-seat classes are very lively and interactive, and I try to follow the suggestions that were enumerated in this module as well. The uppper-level classes usually contain students who are not as much at risk as beginning students and who are more committed to finishing. So the challenge is in the entry- level English classes, especially for online schools. Sometimes the issue is just plain poor preparation on the part of new students, but teachers should never underestimate the value of a letter or positive comment in reaching out to these students.
p.s. I caught a misspelling in this class, ED 102, The Road to Success slide. I underlined and italicized this below. Thanks! June
"Competition is a part of life that everyone has to cope with, but it can have a very adverse affect on student learning if it is perceived as being so intense that only a few of the students are really able to compete.
